Technique
How to say it
- 1
To produce /v/, place your upper front teeth lightly on your lower lip and push voiced air through the contact point to create audible friction.
- 2
To produce /w/, round your lips tightly into an 'oo' shape and release smoothly into the following vowel without letting your teeth touch your lip.
- 3
Keep your vocal cords vibrating for both consonants, but check in a mirror that only /v/ involves visible tooth-to-lip contact.
- 4
Practise moving between contrasting sounds in connected phrases such as 'very well' to build muscle memory.
8 pairs
Minimal pairs
Say each pair aloud. If the two words sound the same when you record yourself, slow down and go back to the steps above.
- vest/west
- vine/wine
- veil/wail
- vet/wet
- verse/worse
- vary/wary
- viper/wiper
- vent/went
12 sentences
Practice lines from IELTS-style answers
- 1
We visited a very lovely village in the west of the country.
/v/ in visited, very, village versus /w/ in we, west
- 2
I went for a walk every evening to view the wonderful sunset.
/w/ in went, walk, wonderful versus /v/ in every, view
- 3
The weather was awful, so we viewed the modern art gallery indoors.
/w/ in weather, was, we versus /v/ in viewed
- 4
Working on various web projects gives me valuable experience in technology.
/w/ in working, web versus /v/ in various, valuable
- 5
My university tutor gave very wise advice about my future career.
/v/ in university, very versus /w/ in wise
- 6
I always wear warm clothes whenever I visit cold winter destinations.
/w/ in wear, warm, whenever, winter versus /v/ in visit
- 7
We were wondering whether the environment would recover from severe pollution.
/w/ in we, were, wondering, whether, would versus /v/ in environment, recover, severe
- 8
Living in a quiet flat works well for my weekly study routine.
/v/ in living versus /w/ in works, well, weekly
- 9
I volunteer every weekend at a local charity providing warm meals.
/v/ in volunteer, every, providing versus /w/ in weekend, warm
- 10
Watching wildlife documentaries is a wonderful way to relax in the evening.
/w/ in watching, wildlife, wonderful, way versus /v/ in evening
- 11
I would love to travel everywhere and discover different world cultures.
/w/ in would, everywhere, world versus /v/ in love, travel, discover
- 12
They provided whatever we wanted during our short holiday in Vienna.
/v/ in provided, Vienna versus /w/ in whatever, we, wanted
Say it in a real answer
Record an IELTS Speaking answer and get a Pronunciation band from the AI examiner, with the exact words that were hard to understand.
Log in to practise this with AI scoring — free →Watch out
Common mistakes
- →Allowing the upper teeth to touch the lower lip when pronouncing /w/, which makes words like 'warm' sound like 'varm'.
- →Rounding the lips instead of using tooth-to-lip friction for /v/, causing 'very' to sound like 'wery'.
- →Overcompensating by swapping both sounds simultaneously when they appear in the same sentence, such as saying 'wery vell'.
In the exam: Take extra care with habitual words like 'very', 'work', and 'weather' in Part 1, because mispronouncing high-frequency vocabulary creates an immediate impression of low phonological control.
Frequently asked questions
How much does pronunciation count in IELTS Speaking?+
A quarter of your Speaking band. Examiners judge how easy you are to understand and how well you use features like stress, rhythm and intonation, not whether you sound British or American.
Do I need a native accent for Band 8?+
No. An accent is fine at every band. What matters is that individual sounds are clear, stress falls on the right syllables and your intonation helps the listener follow you.
How should I practise these lines?+
Read each line slowly, then at natural speed, then record yourself and compare. Say the sentences in a real answer next, because examiners hear your pronunciation while you think, not while you read.
Keep practising
More consonant sounds practice
- ch versus j (cheap / jeep)
- Consonant clusters at the end of words (texts, months)
- Consonant clusters at the start of words (street, spring)
- f versus p (fast / past)
- Final consonants that learners drop (want, hand, desk)
- h at the start of words (hair / air)
- r versus l (right / light)
- s versus sh (seat / sheet)
- sh versus ch (share / chair)
- Silent letters (knee, listen, foreign)
- Silent r after vowels in British English (car, work)
- th versus d and z (they / day / zay)
- th versus s and t (thank / sank / tank)
- The ng sound /ŋ/ (sing, thinking)
- The voiced th sound /ð/ (this, mother)
- The voiceless th sound /θ/ (think, month)
- The /ʒ/ sound (measure, decision)
- v versus b (vote / boat)
- z versus s (rise / rice)
- All 59 pronunciation sets
- Part 1 topics
- Part 2 cue cards
- Part 3 questions
© 2026 BandLadder. Written and checked by the BandLadder team. You may quote or cite this page with credit to BandLadder and a link to it; republishing it in full needs our written permission. Content use policy